Description: A look at Spencer F. Baird's tenure at the Smithsonian establishing a network of collectors to launch the Smithsonian's first official museum.
Description: Ranking 2nd in 2013 as one of the top best places to work for in the Federal Government, there is no doubt that the Smithsonian Institution knows how to throw a birthday party.
Description: With the help of digital volunteers, we will make over a century’s worth of Smithsonian Board of Regents Meeting Minutes searchable, via the Smithsonian Transcription Center.
Description: Computer science researchers at the University of Washington and Cornell University have announced a new system of powerful graphics algorithms that will create three-dimensional renderings of buildings, neighborhoods, and potentially even entire cities. Fittingly the inventors went for the gold and named the system PhotoCity. Like its precursor, Microsoft’s Photosynth, the
Description: See how Smithsonian scientists have always been willing to do what is needed to further their research—including camping in all conditions!
Description: On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, over 30 volunteers showed up at the National Museum of the American Indian to write minority women into digital history during a Wikipedia edit-a-thon in honor of Women's History Month. On the to-do list were artists, educators, activists, Smithsonian employees, the first Chinese-American female dentist, and the African-American woman who
Description: Today is the day to shine the spotlight on electronic records, as Oct 10 marks the sixth Electronic Records Day.Sponsored by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), this day is “to raise awareness among state government agencies, the general public, related professional organizations, and other stakeholders about the crucial role electronic records play in their world.” CoSA
Description: The Archives was recently gifted an 1860 letter from Spencer F. Baird, second Secretary of the Smithsonian, to George N. Lawrence, fellow naturalist. The donor requested that, along with a digital version, a transcription be provided, which I undertook alongside a simple treatment. The letter was in overall excellent condition: the thin paper exhibited only a pair of small